From the Rector: All Hallows-tide

15 October 2024

The days are becoming shorter as the sun rises later and the daylight fades earlier. Soon November will be upon us, and we will be celebrating All Hallows-tide. All Hallows, All Saints, and All Souls have been called the fall triduum or three days, reminiscent of the final three days of Holy Week. Similar to Holy Week, death and resurrection are prominent themes, but in this case the focus is not simply on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but on the lives of saints and souls of the Christian faith throughout the ages.

Halloween is simply the Eve of All Saints. Festivities abound on this day that seeks to scare death away, or to make fun of death due to our belief in the resurrection. On the Day of All Saints we remember the great saints who have gone before us, magnifying the Light of Christ through their very lives. On the Day of All Souls, we remember our beloved departed - the holy souls who have been close to us, and in many cases have been good examples of a faith-filled life.

Historically November is the month of Holy Souls and the Faithful Departed. November is also the end of the liturgical year, so it makes sense that we contemplate the end times, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting that is to come. By the end of November, themes of the Second Coming of Christ will be ever-present, and our hearts and minds turn to the hope that the creation will be made new when Christ returns as Judge and Ruler.

The themes of death and life are always with us. This past Sunday after the Rector's Forum we received the sad news that Pastor Jeff Lilley of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu died earlier in the day. It was shocking news for many. I did not know Pastor Jeff well, but I do know that he was a beloved pastor to many. One never knows when life in this world will end.

Similar to St. Mark's, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu has an automated external defibrillator (AED) for the administering of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). I am told that some parishioners of LCH did exactly what they were supposed to do with the AED when they discovered Pastor Jeff suffering in his office. By coincidence, we have an AED training scheduled for Saturday, October 26, at 9:00 am in the Parish Hall. If you would like to participate in the training, please email the office.

Pastor Jeff Lilley, along with others who have departed this year, have been added to the Necrology for our All Souls Requiem Mass on Saturday, November 2 at 11:00 am. The list is posted in the church. Please let us know if there are additional names to be added. When we gather on All Souls, we will remember all those who have died in the past year, and we will give thanks for the new life they are promised in Jesus Christ.

Father Paul Lillie +